Saturday, November 03, 2012

The eurozone financial crisis is set to deepen following this week’s release of debt projections for the Greek economy. Budget estimates show that instead of peaking at 167 percent of gross domestic product, as predicted last March when the so-called bailout package was put in place, the debt ratio will hit 189 percent this year, rising to 192 percent in 2014—well above the worst case scenarios of just eight months ago.

Architects’ drawings show that the vast mosque will be about the same size as Battersea Power Station.

By comparison, Britain’s largest cathedral, in Liverpool, can hold 3,000 worshippers.Newham Council in east London is due to decide whether it will grant planning permission for the structure next month.

IF THIS MOSQUE IS BUILT, THEY MIGHT AS WELL CALL IT A TOMBSTONE FOR CHRISTIAN EUROPE.

Former OC Human Resources Maj.-Gen Elazar Stern (res.) has joined the Am Shalem party, it was confirmed on Thursday.

Stern, a well-known public figure, is a significant addition to the Am Shalem candidates list, which is headed by MK Rabbi Haim Amsalem, formerly of Shas until his expulsion from the party two years ago.

According to Amsalem’s office, he and Stern have maintained a close relationship for several years and have collaborated on a number of issues, including conversion for IDF soldiers of Jewish descent who are nevertheless not considered Jewish according to Jewish law.

Although the former general is not yet commenting on the development, Amsalem confirmed Thursday morning on Army Radio that Stern was indeed joining his party.

“Maj.-Gen. Stern is a good man and I’m very happy that someone like him really believes in our approach,” Amsalem said.

Two central aspects of Am Shalem’s election platform are the hot-button issues of increasing haredi enlistment in military and national service programs, and integrating ultra-Orthodox men into the work force, both issues in which Stern has experience.

Amsalem has also vowed “to bring back moderate and beautiful Judaism to the Jewish people,” and has harshly denounced Shas for abandoning its constituents.

Amsalem was expelled from Shas in 2010 due to his public criticism of the party regarding discrimination against Sephardi girls in haredi schools, and failing to encourage members of the haredi community to perform military service and integrate into the work force. He nevertheless refused to vacate his Knesset seat.

According to a recent poll conducted by Panels – a research and polling institute – Am Shalem will garner three seats in the coming elections, putting it above the electoral 2-percent threshold and into the Knesset.

How interesting. Shas may have discriminated against Ashkenazi girls in their schools, but if even Sepharadi girls didn't fare much better, then that's something to frown upon too. I certainly hope that Am Shalem will find success in this election, since their platform is a very positive one.

In two weeks, about fifty haredim will enlist in the IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate through the Shahar project, a program aimed at balancing the religous obligations of the haredim and the desire to serve the country, which has already enlisted around 300 haredi youth.

The program was launched in 2007 by then commander of the Israeli Air Force Elazar Shkedy, who looked to the haredim to fill the gaps in the Air Force's technical units. Soldiers ain this program serve as mechanics, computer programmers and electricians.

What makes a haredi unit different from your average IDF unit is that genders never mix in these units - female soldeirs, commanders or instructors are not allowed in the unit. Also, soldiers are given time during the day to pray and learn Torah and all food served is glatt kosher.

While the segregation part may not be great news, that haredim are willing to serve their country and study/work on technology research is a positive development in itself.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has come out against the ongoing discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount. Jews are prohibited to pray on the Mount, which is the holiest place in the world according to Judaism, and many have even been arrested for moving their lips at the site.

The matter is ultimately in the government’s hands, Barkat said, and not in the hands of Jerusalem leaders. His own opinion is “to let every person pray on the Temple Mount,” he said. [...]

Barkat gave his opinion on the matter while visiting Netiv Meir, a yeshiva high school for religious-Zionist youth.

He also spoke to the young students about leadership, and shared his own life story, which included services in the IDF Paratroopers, years in the business world, and then time in the realm of politics and public service.

In addition, Barkat addressed the issue of selecting a chief rabbi for the city. He noted that he had promised deceased religious-Zionist leader Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu that he would work to get a religious-Zionist rabbi appointed.

I'm glad he's stepping up to speak against an act of dhimmitude. What Yigal Allon did - handing the keys to the Temple Mount over to the Wakf in 1967 - caused a lot of damage that could've been avoided, and all this cowardice today is the result of it.

Obama bragging on his 170,000 jobs added last month is like a 220 hitter claiming to be a slugger who hits for average and power and arguing that he deserves to be batting clean-up. But Obama is really a weak hitter who deserves to be benched. We need more than 250,000 jobs added each month and shouldn't settle for less. Voting for Obama is settling for less. Voting for Obama is like sending up a third string sub to bat clean up. Vote accordingly. Vote Romney-Ryan.

In an interview with TheMarker, Litzman, who is from the ultra-Orthodox United Judaism party, spoke about a range of subjects, including issues of special importance to the Haredim - the ultra-Orthodox. Some secular readers may not like his take on these issues, such as cuts to child allowances (he's against them) and boosting the low workplace participation rate among Haredi men (which he says is not necessary). "Nowhere is it written that males need to work. It's good enough if the wife works," he said. [...]

"On the other hand," Litzman said, referring to the situation in a Haredi Tel Aviv suburb, "Bnei Brak is not afflicted with unemployment. Why? Because one parent works." But when challenged with the fact that only 45% of adult Haredi males are employed (rather than engaging in full-time religious studies ), Litzman said: "Nowhere is it written that males need to work. It's good enough if the wife works."

"It's absurd for everyone to work, because who will educate the children? Who will look after them?" Litzman said. "If you go out onto the street and say that both spouses need to work, everyone would disagree. Such a situation is impossible. Someone has to devote themselves to the children so they are not thrown into the street."

So in other words, men can shirk all the responsibility that biblical Abraham took in agriculture to become the prominent biblical figure he is, and can lazy around only reading Torah with a bewilderingly superficial view of what it's meant to teach. And his argument that somebody needs to teach the kids is muddled too - it's not like they can't find time to do so after work hours, to say nothing of school hours! Umm, where do they send the children for even Torah-based lessons? A yeshiva/ulpana, right? So what's his problem anyway? At the end of the article, he says:

Many state-funded ultra-Orthodox schools don't teach the state's core curriculum [including math, science, English and civics] - something that is seen as a threat to the economic future of the country. When asked about this, Litzman said: "Really? So take myself as an example. I didn't study core subjects. So what? Is that bad? Did [Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Moshe] Gafni [of United Torah Judaism] study core subjects?"

I'm not amused by his answer at all. Without mathematics and geometry, how could we build synagogues and determine the costs? How could the ancient Temples the Western Wall was part of be built? How could Noah build the Ark? I almost feel sorry for him now.

And when it comes to Haredi adult males who engage in religious studies rather than working, Litzman said: "There is an ironclad rule that says someone who wishes to study must study." It's impossible to change that world view, he explained. "If someone wants to work, he can go into the army or wherever he wants. I don't have a problem with that, but you should know that a lot of Haredim do work."

Well at least he's honest enough about that. But to say that the menfolk don't have to work is wrong, and didn't the Lord tell Adam he'd have to work hard for his own living after banishing him and Eve from the Garden of Eden, as related in Genesis 3:19? So what's Litzman trying to prove anyway? All he's done is further enforce everybody's perceptions that people like him are ungrateful and think they have no responsibility to making Israel a prosperous nation. He should really go to school.

When asked, "Do you believe that criticism of Islam or Muhammad should be permitted under the Constitution's First Amendment?", 58% replied "no," while only 42% affirmed this most basic manifestation of freedom of speech, i.e., to criticize religious, or any other dogma.

Indeed, oblivious to US constitutional law, as opposed to Islam's Sharia, a largely concordant 45% of respondents agreed "...that those who criticize or parody Islam in the U.S. should face criminal charges," while 38% did not, and 17% were "unsure." Moreover, fully 12% of this Muslim sample even admitted they believed in application of the draconian, Sharia-based punishment for the non-existent crime of "blasphemy" in the US code, answering affirmatively, "...that Americans who criticize or parody Islam should be put to death."

Also, consistent with such findings 43% of these US Muslims rejected the right of members of other faiths to proselytize to adherents of Islam, disagreeing, "...that U.S. citizens have a right to evangelize Muslims to consider other faiths." Additional confirmatory data revealed that nearly two-fifths (39%) agreed "...that Shariah law should be considered when adjudicating cases that involve Muslims, " while nearly one-third (32%) of this American Muslim sample believed "...Shariah law should be the supreme law of the land in the US."

These alarming data remind us that despite intentionally obfuscating apologetics, Sharia, Islamic law, is not merely holistic, in the general sense of all-encompassing, but totalitarian, regulating everything from the ritual aspects of religion, to personal hygiene, to the governance of a Muslim minority community, Islamic state, bloc of states, or global Islamic order.

To allow Islamic ideology to take root in America is to nurture a parasite which will eventually destroy its host. [...]

Think about that. Almost half of the Muslims in America would throw Christians in prison if they could, simply for telling them the truth about Islam, and 1 out of every 8 Muslims you meet in America think you should have your head cut off for doing such a thing. [...]

This illustrates the sad, disturbing and lethal fact that, while there may be moderate Muslims, there is no such thing as moderate Islam. A disturbingly large number of so-called "moderate" Muslims in the U.S. would like to rule us with an iron fist if they could. What they lack is not the will but only the power.

Bottom line: Islam and America cannot coexist in the same space. Islam will not permit it.

Clearly there is no effort being made by the majority of Muslims in America to assimilate to our culture and embrace our values. They are here, not to adapt to us, but to force us to adapt to them. To accommodate Islam in America is to commit societal suicide.

And that's one more reason why, as he's also argued, immigration from Muslim countries has to be suspended, because we can't take risks anymore of the possibility that it could serve as a way for terrorists to infiltrate.

It's been revealed that Khalil al-Wazir, the deputy of Yasser Arafat who was killed in 1988 was taken down by Israeli secret service:

Lifting a nearly 25-year veil of secrecy, Israel is admitting that it killed the deputy of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a 1988 raid in Tunis.

Israel has long been suspected of assassinating Khalil al-Wazir, who was better known by his nom de guerre Abu Jihad. But only Thursday did the country’s military censor clear the Yediot Ahronot daily to publish the information, including an interview with the commando who killed him.

Dozens of brazen operations have been attributed to Israel over the decades. But Israel rarely takes responsibility. The acknowledgement gives a rare glimpse into the country’s covert operations.

Abu Jihad founded the Palestinian Liberation Organization with Mr. Arafat and was blamed for a series of attacks against Israelis.

Oh, he was equally responsible alright, and it's something for which he deserved to die. I hope the AP Wire comprehends that.

They say it is one of the first such cases of its kind in the region.Honour killings happen when mostly male family members believe the victim has brought dishonour to their community.

WHAT KIND OF RELIGIOUS CULTURE TEACHES THAT MURDERING YOUR DAUGHTER RESTORES FAMILY HONOR"?A SICK AND DEPRAVED ONE.PEOPLE WHO ATTACK ME AND MY FELLOW COUNTER-JIHAD BLOGGERS FOR SAYING SO ARE THE REAL COWARDS AND THE REAL ISLAMOPHOBES.MOST MUSLIMS DON'T BEHAVE THE WAY THESE PARENTS DID.BUT THE ONES WHO DO ARE MORE STRICTLY FOLLOWING THE PRECEPTS OF ISLAM AND MORE STRICTLY FOLLOWING THEIR SO-CALLED PROPHET'S LIFE.WE APPEASE THE STRICT ADHERENTS OF ISLAM AT OUR OWN PERIL.AND WHEN WE APPEASE THEM WE MAKE IT HARDER FOR THE MUSLIMS WHO ALSO ABHOR THIS KIND OF STUFF TO SPEAK OUT - FOR THEY ARE MORE SUBJECT TO REPRISAL THAN WE ARE AND SO THEY ARE EVEN MORE AFRAID THAN OUR ISLAMOPHOBES.WE MUST CLOSE EVERY MOSQUE IN THE WEST THAT ESPOUSES HONOR-KILLING, JIHAD, AND SHARIA.AND WE MUST SHUN EVERY NATION THAT PERMITS THESE INSTITUTIONS TO CONTINUE - AND YES: THAT MEANS SAUDI ARABIA.DOING BUSINESS WITH THEM - AS LONG AS THEY SUPPORT ISLAMO-HEGEMONY - IS LIKE SELLING OUR SOULS TO THE DEVIL.

THEY TOLD US THE WALKER RECALL WAS CLOSE AND GETTING CLOSER...BUT WALKER WON BY A LANDSLIDE CAPTURING MORE VOTES AND A HIGHER PERCENTAGE THAN WHEN HE WAS FIRST ELECTED.THE SAME THING WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK:ROMNEY WILL WIN IN A ROMP.

THIS IS NOT BECAUSE THE POLLS THAT SHOW OBAMA LEADING AREN'T ACCURATE.

THE POLLS THAT SHOW OBAMA LEADING ARE ACCURATE:

THEY SHOW THAT IF AND ONLY IF OBAMA GETS A TURNOUT GREATER THAN THE ONE HE GOT IN 2008, HE WILL DEFEAT ROMNEY.

THAT TYPE OF TURNOUT IS NOT LIKELY.

THAT TYPE OF TURNOUT IS NOT EVEN REMOTELY LIKELY.

HERE'S WHY:

98% OF THE POLLS IN EVERY STATE AND NATIONWIDE SHOW ROMNEY LEADING WITH INDEPENDENTS BY DOUBLE-DIGITS.

OBAMA HAS RAISED LESS MONEY THAN IN 2008 AND ROMNEY HAS RAISED MORE THAN MCCAIN.

OBAMA IS POLLING WORSE THAN HE DID IN 2008, AND ROMNEY IS POLLING HIGHER THAN MCCAIN.

OBAMA IS POLLING LESS NOW THAN IN 2008 WITH JEWS, BLACKS, MARRIED WOMEN, SENIORS, CATHOLICS, MEN, AND WHITES.

OBAMA WILL WIN CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT AND MAINE BY SMALLER MARGINS THAN IN 2008.

IT WILL BE A ROUT.

AND BECAUSE THE LEGACY MEDIA HAS BEEN TOUTING A ROMNEY DEFEAT, ROMNEY'S LANDSLIDE WILL BE GREETED BY MASSIVE RIOTS AND A DEMAND BY THE LEFT FOR A UNITED NATIONS/OSCE INVESTIGATION TO INVALIDATE THE RESULTS.

GET TO THE BALLOT BOX, MY FRIENDS - AND THEN BRACE YOURSELF: THE SOCIALISTS WILL NOT TAKE DEFEAT LYING DOWN.

Civil rights group ACRI called on Modi’in Mayor Haim Bibas to rescind his policy of preventing non-residents from using the city’s main public park during the intermediary days of the Pessah and Succot holidays, as well as during other school vacations.

The restrictions were enacted just before this year’s Succot festival. Park Anabeh in Modi’in is a large, modern expanse containing picnicking areas; an events stage, a small boating lake and an adventure playground.

Although the reason given by the mayor and the municipality for the ban was that the park becomes overcrowded during the holiday seasons, critics accused the mayor of seeking to keep out haredi residents of neighboring Modiin Illit - a purpose built ultra-Orthodox city - who flock to the park at these times.

There are no comparable public facilities to Park Anabeh in Modi’in Illit.

Unfortunately, there's reasons why this happened:

In conversation with The Jerusalem Post during Succot, several city residents on a visit to Park Anabeh, complained that the large numbers of haredi visitors crowded out Modi’in residents. They also reported that the haredim left behind large amounts of rubbish.

Some park visitors claimed that some ultra-Orthodox visitors had requested from other park guests that they dress in a more modest fashion.

Several people in the park also mentioned an incident that occurred during the Pessah holiday earlier this year, in which a presenter of a show that was being staged in the park called on a female volunteer to assist him on stage.

A haredi woman then objected and asked the presenter to choose a male volunteer instead, a request with which the presenter complied.

In a separate incident that further raised inter-communal tensions, Mayor of Modiin Illit Yaakov Gutterman told haredi newspaper Yated Neeman that a new archaeological park in his city, which is yet to open, would only be available to members of the ultra-Orthodox public.

Bibas wrote a letter to Gutterman in response, threatening to bar residents of Modi’in Illit from Park Anabe if Gutterman maintained his stance.

Well see, once again we have here the problem of Haredim trying to manipulate something they don't own into doing their bidding. And what a disgrace - a Haredi woman was the one here to push for this insult to a girl volunteer, though the presenter is no less to blame for caving to her demand when he didn't have to. If she doesn't like it, she doesn't have to watch the show. This is otherwise a public park and not their property to dictate to other visitors how to run their business.

Curiously enough, there was one other possible reason for this:

ACRI noted in its letter that it had also recently written to the Kiryat Ata municipality over its policy of charging non-residents entrance fees to its public park. ACRI said that it suspected the purpose of the policy was to prevent Arab residents of local communities visiting the park.

What if said Arabs are Muslims, and ended up doing worse than the Haredim did? In that case I could probably understand this. That said, even if the Haredim from the Illit suburb were nothing compared to what potential harm Muslims could cause, there's still no justification for their trying to impose their beliefs on non-Haredi visitors to the park, nor for barring non-Haredi residents from the archaeology park in Modiin Illit. A shame that everybody's enjoyment has to be hampered by dragging religion into all this.

Here's the report on Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the Jewish school that suffered the tragedy earlier this year:

French President Francois Holland and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, met in Toulouse Thursday with the families of the victims of the March terrorist attack at the Ohr Hatorah (formerly Otzar HaTorah) school.

Both Holland and Netanyahu pledged to fight anti-Semitism, both in France and globally. During the meeting, Netanyahu said, "The fact that we are standing here together, the French President and Prime Minister of Israel, says everything about our partnership in the war against terrorism, against racism and against violence."

After the meeting, a memorial ceremony took place at the school. The ceremony was also attended by Jewish Agency Chairman, Natan Sharansky; the Chief Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, and hundreds of members of the Jewish community of France.

The Prime Minister said at the memorial service, "History teaches us that the plague of anti-Semitism begins with attacks against Jews but very quickly it spreads further and hits others. If we don't put out the flame of anti-Semitism from its outset it could turn into a big fire which consumes everything in its path.

"The barbaric hatred of the murderers threatens not only the Jews but the entire civilization. I came here from Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, to say together with you against all of the enemies of Israel, three distinct words: Am Israel Chai! Let's sing it out loud so that our voices will be heard in Toulouse, Burgas, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, schools in Maalot, the Dolphinarium in Tel -- Aviv, the Fogel family in Itamar. Am Israel Chai."

On March 19th of this year, a terrorist pulled up to the Jewish school Otzar Hatorah on a scooter and opened fire on parents and students outside of the school, killing four. The first victim was Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, a French-Israeli teacher at the school, who was shot to death outside the school gates while trying to shield his two young sons, Leo, 6 and Gabriel 3, who were also murdered. The fourth victim was eight-year-old Miriam Monsonego, the daughter of the school's principal.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's new hawkish bloc will do away with a contentious system of draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men if it forms the next government, Israel's deputy foreign minister pledged Wednesday.

If the vow is implemented, it would put the recently formed bloc on a potential collision course with its likely religious coalition partners.

The issue of the draft exemptions has become a major source of friction in Israel, and the outgoing government failed to meet a Supreme Court order to abolish the system. Heading into elections in January, the issue is now caught in legal limbo.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, a member of the secular Yisrael Beitenu Party, said the government failed to find a new formula thus far for the draft because of objections by the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party. Both Shas and Yisrael Beitenu are key members in the current Israeli government. [...]

Ayalon said the partnership with Likud has changed the rules of the game and that if Shas wanted to be part of the next government, it would have to agree ahead of time to universal drafting and electoral reform in Israel.

Otherwise, "they won't be part of the government," Ayalon told The Associated Press.

In a country where military service is compulsory for all Jewish males except the ultra-Orthodox, the draft exemptions have created widespread resentment toward the religious.

Shas and Israel's religious leaders resist any change to the draft system, which allows most ultra-Orthodox men to skip military service in favor of study in their insulated seminaries.

Polls show the teamed-up Likud-Yisrael Beitenu ticket to be far ahead of any other party in the countdown to the elections. But the bloc will still need to form a coalition with other parties to gain a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Ultra-Orthodox parties like Shas have traditionally aligned with Likud.

Despite Ayalon's remarks Wednesday, Yisrael Beitenu and Shas have sat together in the current government for nearly four years. Many analysts expect the two will find ways to bridge their differences in the next government as well.

Well let's hope they do, but I think the ball really is in Shas' court this time, and they must agree to end the draft exemptions.

But it's not so that Shas has usually aligned with Likud - they willingly formed a government with Labor in 1992 and even in 1999, and in 2006 with Kadima. In other words, their loyalty to the country in itself is not solid.

Ayalon said the new Likud-Yisrael Beitenu bloc would have a better bargaining position over the draft exemptions issue.

"I think we will have a better weight and we will also have choices," he said in a veiled threat. "I don't want to preempt. We'll see."

He spoke after meeting in Jerusalem with Anglo supporters, most of whom oppose the exemptions.

Religious parties, which often serve as kingmakers in Israeli politics, have used their political muscle over the years to guarantee the draft exemptions.

Well it's decidedly time to put an end to such influence.

Secular Israelis see the draft controversy as part of a bigger conflict over the character of the country. They have also expressed alarm over ultra-Orthodox efforts to segregate the sexes in public, their heavy reliance on welfare handouts, and a school system that teaches religious studies but few skills for the work world.

Not just "secular" Israelis - even religious themselves have expressed concern. In fact, on the comments list from that page, somebody said:

I am an orthodox ZIONIST Jew who welcomes a politician with the COJONES to tell the ultra religious that either they participate in the COSTS of a nation both economically, ethically and morally, or they should not expect to reap the benefits of the country. The ultra right got a SMALL EXEMPTION forty years ago and have leveraged it into a windfall at the expense of moral resentment by those who are not religious. Plainly, IT IS NOT FAIR.

You want the benefits of a citizen, YOU PAY THE PRICE of that citizenship in responsibility to the country, in taxes and in your behavior. PERIOD.

Bingo! It most definitely is time for someone on the right to send a message to the Haredi parties that exploiting the wider public and stooping to victimology cannot go on. Somebody on the right has to stand up to these pretentious Haredi politicians already, and Ayalon was right to do so.

THAT'S WHAT ALL - REPEAT ALL - THE POLLS WHICH SHOW OBAMA BEATING ROMNEY ESSENTIALLY ASK YOU TO BELIEVE WILL HAPPEN.

DESPITE 2010.

DESPITE THE FACT THAT OBAMA'S APPROVAL NUMBER IS UNDERWATER.

DESPITE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT.

DESPITE THE INDISPUTABLE FACT THAT ROMNEY IS:

AHEAD OF MCCAIN IN EARLY TURNOUT,

AHEAD OF MCCAIN WITH ABSENTEE BALLOTS,

AHEAD OF MCCAIN IN FUNDRAISING,

AHEAD OF MCCAIN IN POLLING IN EVERY STATE NOT IN DISPUTE

AND IS INDISPUTABLY LEADING IN STATES THAT OBAMA CARRIED IN 2008, LIKE FLORIDA AND NORTH CAROLINA.

AND DESPITE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT OBAMA IS BEHIND HIS 2008 TOTALS WITH JEWS, BLACKS, WOMEN, INDEPENDENTS, AND CATHOLICS.

THEREFORE, IT IS IRRATIONAL TO BELIEVE THAT OBAMA WOULD BE LEADING IN OHIO OR ANY OTHER TOSS-UP STATE.

OR AS ACE PUT IT:

NumberMuncher made a good point on Twitter, a general "I Call Bullshit" statement on the various polls showing Obama with big leads in Ohio, Virginia, and even North Carolina (!!!).

It's very simple: Swing states are swing states because neither party has much of a lead in the states. The outcome of any election, then, depends heavily on which way Independents vote.

A swing state is a swing state, basically, because the parties are tied there (basically, within a few points), and the Independents play tiebreaker.

Any state in which Obama loses Independents by six, eight, or ten points but somehow -- as these polls claims -- wins the state anyway are not "swing states," almost by definition.

We have a name for this category of states: We call them Safe Democratic states, where it really doesn't matter what Independents think because the Democratic majority is strong enough to carry the state in virtually any situation.

BOTTOM-LINE: DICK MORRIS IS RIGHT: IT'S SHAPING UP TO BE A ROMNEY LANDSLIDE.

A female IDF soldier filed a police complaint against a haredi man whom she claims spat on her and her mother while the two were sitting inside their car on the Bar Ilan road in Jerusalem. [...]

According to the soldier, the haredi man shouted the words "Good women, good women" at her and then spat at her mother. "He hit her neck and then spat on me," she claims.

"Several minutes later we made a u-turn and returned to the junction," she recounted. "I noticed him entering a yeshiva and managed to take a photograph of his back before he disappeared."

She further added, "As a native of Jerusalem I know and respect this society. I know it's just a handful of people that tarnishes the reputation of an entire sector. I was very offended by what he did."

And with good reason. That was assault and vehicle invasion he committed, and he should be made to pay a stiff fine. I hope he's found, and soon.

When I realized in the past year that some, if not all, of the Hasidic community in this country was leaning towards belief systems that are detrimental to Israel's benefits, I knew it was something that would have to be addressed as best as possible. And now, with elections around the corner, the 2 Hasidic parties in the Knesset, United Torah Judaism and Shas, are announcing they're willing to join a leftist-led coalition because they oppose army service, for example:

United Torah Judaism warned on Tuesday that it is open to all possible political avenues after the elections and would consider joining a coalition government of the Center-Left bloc instead of the Right.

“We’re not beholden to Bibi [Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu], we’re not in his hands, and we won’t automatically go with the [political] Right bloc,” a UTJ official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

“There are other options and we will consider them all,” he continued.

The source also stated that after the last elections in 2009, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the spiritual leader of haredi Jewry until his death earlier this year, authorized the UTJ politicians to join a Center-Left Kadima-led coalition with Tzipi Livni at its head.

“We would consider joining with [Labor leader Shelly] Yacimovich, or [former prime minister Ehud] Olmert if he decides to run,” the official said, adding that a female prime minister was not a concern for the haredi leadership, as has been suggested in the past.

Well gee, isn't that why past Haredi politicians were willing to join a government with Golda Meir? But Livni is no Meir, just like Olmert is no Ben-Gurion, and their own policies were so atrocious that to hear them tell they're willing to join up with someone whose policies are harmful to this country and another who's been charged with corruption unmasks them as some of the most irresponsible and reprehensible people I've ever known. Clearly, they must care more about their own flaccid agendas than about Israel's security, and if they do, that is absolutely atrocious, to say nothing of an insult even to their own community.

UTJ, along with Shas, has expressed concerned over the unification deal between Likud and Yisrael Beytenu, and the possible implications of the agreement on the advancement of secularist legislation through the Knesset.

During the last Knesset, Yisrael Beytenu was a chief proponent of mandatory national service for haredi yeshiva students from age 18, anathema to the haredi parties, and was the only party to actually bring a bill to the Knesset plenum for a vote.

Yisrael Beytenu also sponsored legislation for the establishment of civil marriage, and for the liberalization of the state conversion process, both of which were strongly opposed by UTJ and Shas.

The unity deal has therefore caused concern for UTJ, in that it may be surplus to requirements after the elections.

Additionally, the starting point for UTJ in any coalition negotiations will be an agreement to preserve as much as possible the previous arrangements for full-time yeshiva students prior to the expiration of the “Tal Law” in August, in which they were able to indefinitely postpone military service.

So they're against serving their own country and defending it too? This is disgusting. If this is how they intend to conduct their business, then they have none inside the Knesset. The good news is that they may be facing a split from their faction:

In addition to external political concerns, UTJ’s internal squabbles have not let up, with an argument over slots on the party’s electoral list continuing to fester.

Officials in a recently formed rival party, Netzach – which is faithful to prominent haredi leader Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach – continue to insist that they will run in the coming elections regardless of the damage it might do to UTJ.

Yeshayahu Wein, an editor of the new haredi daily HaPeles and a loyalist in Auerbach’s camp, confirmed on Tuesday that the party was still committed to running, and denied that negotiations for a compromise are being conducted between the two sides.

“We’re open to peace talks up till the very last minute, although its possible the last minute might already have arrived,” he told the Post.

Well if UTJ - and Shas - are going to stick with these unproductive policies and set such a poor example, then let's hope so. I've concluded that they cannot be approved of if this is how they're going to go about.

More good news is that the Border Police have opened up a special project for Haredim to help defend the country, in places like Judea and around Jerusalem. And I think there's a good chance plenty are bound to join, which really ought to send UTJ and Shas a message that there are Haredim who understand the importance of this country's safety, including for their own community.

As superstorm Sandy slammed into New York City Monday night, more than 10 feet of water flooded seven buildings of the NYU Langone Medical Center. The facility lost power at the height of the storm. Doctors, nurses and hospital staff sought to evacuate about 300 patients that night. And some of the tiniest evacuees -- 20 newborn babies clinging to life in the neonatal intensive care unit -- were the most at risk.

New mom Jo-An Tremblay-Shepherd said, "The power went off completely, and all of the monitors, you're seeing all these monitors here, and there's a lot of buzzing and whatnot and everything just went."

Tremblay-Shepherd's son, Jackson, born 27 weeks prematurely, was carried in the dark by a nurse who also held his oxygen tank.

"We had to go down nine flights of stairs that were wet and had adult patients lying on the floors in like stretchers," Tremblay-Shepherd recalled. "It was pretty crazy, and all this in complete darkness."

Some 30 Hamas activists have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of setting up a Hamas branch in the Ramallah area, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Monday.

The men set up a headquarters for Hamas in the West Bank city traditionally seen as a Fatah stronghold, and operated in the areas of the Binyamin region of the West Bank, according to security forces.

"During questioning of suspects by the Shin Bet, it emerged that the headquarters sought to renew Hamas's activities and rebuilt the organization in the Ramallah area… ahead of the future elections in the Palestinian Authority" security forces said.

The Shin Bet identified Murad Muhammad Khaled Abu Baha as the head of the cell, naming several regional subordinates. Maher Ayoub Abd Dalashiya was named as the alleged money man.

THIS INFORMATION PROBABLY INDICATES THAT THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN'S REFUSAL TO USE STANDARD CREDIT CARD CHECKS ON THEIR CAMPAIGN WEBSITE IS PART OF A DELIBERATE EFFORT TO FACILITATE AND PROMOTE THEIR DEPENDENCE ON ARAB MUSLIMS FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

It is heart breaking that the two defenders of the annex, former SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty who were in Libya as security contractors separate from the consulate, ran to the sound of the guns at the consulate--though they were unarmed--and picked up dropped weapons on the way (tip to Instapundit).

They didn't know what was going on and didn't have real-time information about what was happening, but they followed their instincts and ran to the sounds of the guns.

It is a good thing that they acted that way, or the American body count could have been much higher--or we'd be discussing Day 47 of America Held Hostage.

The two Americans allowed the escape of 20 of our people in the consulate and then they set up a defense perimeter and held off an attack by 100-200 jihadis at the annex.

According to the UK Independent, the Saudis, the inhabitants of the country where Islam first began, are the ones with the least respect for Mecca and Medina. The article contains some apologia and propaganda but does still tell something eyebrow raising:

Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam, are being systematically bulldozed to make way for gleaming sky scrapers, luxury hotels and shopping malls. The Saudis insist that the expansion of these two cities is vital to make way for the growing numbers of pilgrims in a rapidly expanded and inter-connected world. And they’re right.

But does it really need to be done in a way where luxury apartments and $500-a-night rooms now overlook the Ka’aba in Mecca, the one place on earth that all Muslims are supposed to be equal?

Most appallingly dozens of early Islamic sites – including those with a direct link to the Prophet himself – have been wiped off the map. The situation is so bad that the Washington based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 percent of the millennium old buildings in the two cities have been destroyed in the past twenty years.

Much of this cultural vandalism is inspired by Wahabism – the austere interpretation of Islam that is the Saudi kingdom’s official religion. Wahabis are obsessed with idol worship and believe visiting graves, shrines or historical sites that are associated with the Prophet encourages shirq (the worship of false gods). The rampant commercialism meanwhile is inspired by something much simpler – greed.

I wouldn't advise taking this claim about Wahabism at face value, but if the Saudis really are knocking down the ancient sites that were supposed to be dedicated to a man whose existence as researchers like Robert Spencer have noted is uncertain, then that just shows how Islam doesn't have much self-respect for even its own would-be history. Likewise, it shows that even the western apologists for Islam don't particularly care if the followers of the religion they're safeguarding are tossing out their holy sites with such disregard. The acts they've committed even included turning the house of a wife of Muhammed into a toilet. (Maybe because she's a woman, they're fine with that?)

Of course, the buildings they've wrecked probably didn't even have authenticity as "holy sites" to begin with, and maybe they took them down because they didn't want historians coming along someday and figuring out that they bore little convincing evidence of Muhammed's existence any more than the Koran provides. That doesn't mean they're modernizing yet though, and only time will tell when they do.

Everything in the latest polls suggests doom for Obama with independents. This morning’s Washington Post poll has him down 20 with independents, 58-38. The Rasmussen national tracker has him down 17 today. Today’s IBD/TIPP poll has him down 10, 48-38.

SurveyUSA/Monmouth has him trailing by 19, 52-33. The outlier, SEIU/DailyKos pollster PPP, had Romney up 2 yesterday with independents, 47-45, after the PPP tracker showed him up 10, 51-41, three days earlier. In this morning’s swing state poll, Rasmussen shows Romney leading Obama by 11 with independents.

In Ohio, ARG has Obama down 20 with independents, 57-37, SurveyUSA has him down 8, 47-39; TIME has him down 15, 53-38; PPP has him down 7, 49-42; CBS/Quinnipiac has him down 7, 49-42; Gravis has him down 19, 52-33.

Obama has lost independents.

.... if the Rasmussen and Gallup surveys accurately depict the electorate, this will not even be close....

... nearly everything we can verify shows the Democrats in worse shape than 2008. It’s just hard to see where you come up with the evidence of the Democratic turnout wave that Obama needs.

... It’s hard to make sense of why so many pollsters are showing this as a tight race under these circumstances, with independents consistently breaking heavily to Romney and all the indicators of turnout suggesting at least a much smaller Democratic advantage than 2008 and – if you believe Gallup’s and Rasmussen’s surveys – a Republican wave unlike any we've seen in a presidential election in our lifetimes.

BOTTOM-LINE:

IN 2008, 32% OF THOSE WHO VOTED WERE DEMS. OBAMA WON IN 2008 BECAUSE HE GOT THE MAJORITY OF IND'S. AND BECAUSE GOP TURNOUT WAS DOWN 2% FROM 2004.

I THINK THE ONLY EXPLANATION IS THAT THE LEFT CARES NOT FOR ANYTHING EXCEPT THEIR COALITION'S ABILITY TO GAIN AND HOLD POWER IN ORDER TO TAKE AS MUCH CONTROL OVER THE ECONOMY AS THEY CAN SO THEY CAN DIVVY UP THE GOODIES.

If Obama is in fact winning Ohio by four or five points, then it’s very unlikely to see how Romney closes the gap over the next week and a half. If, however, the race is tied there, or Obama has a very narrow edge, then it’s possible that a similar break to the one Kerry had would be enough for Romney to take the Buckeye state, and likely, the presidency.

ROMNEY WILL WIN OHIO, BUT IT WON'T JUST BE BECAUSE OF LATE-BREAKING UNDECIDEDS.

HERE ARE TWO COMMENTS FROM THE ABOVE THREAD WHICH EXPLAIN WHY:

Most of these Ohio polls say what they say because the election story would be over otherwise. Nobody wins [OHIO] when they are 3-4 behind nationally [AS OBAMA IS], getting crushed in voter enthusiasm, and losing independents by a substantial margin [AGAIN: AS OBAMA IS].

At a press conference this week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US military did not quickly intervene during the attack because military leaders did not have adequate intelligence information and felt they should not put American forces at risk, reports the Associated Press.

"The basic principle is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on; without having some real-time information about what's taking place," Mr. Panetta told Pentagon reporters. "And as a result of not having that kind of information, the commander who was on the ground in that area, Gen. Ham, Gen. Dempsey and I felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation."

Panetta was referring to Gen. Carter Ham, the head of US Africa Command, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

IF PANETTA IS TELLING THE TRUTH, THEN HE AND DEMPSEY AND HAN MUST RESIGN.

BUT... HAM HAS BEEN RELIEVED OF HIS COMMAND - AND SOME SAY BECAUSE HE DISOBEYED PANETTA AND DEMPSEY AND ORDERED AN ATTACK ON THE TERRORISTS IN BENGHAZI.

ONLY MAKING ALL THEIR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DC AND AFRICOM CAN CLEAR THIS UP AND DETERMINE IF PANETTA IS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN HIM AND LOWER DOWN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED ABOVE PANETTA IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND - BETWEEN PANETTA AND THE WHITE HOUSE?

WE NEED TO KNOW. WE NEED AN INVESTIGATION.

ULTIMATELY, OBAMA IS RESPONSIBLE.

BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO RESIGN: WE SHALL RELIEVE OBAMA OF HIS COMMAND IN THE ELECTION!